lipscomb



March 10, 1964 w. LIPSCOMB LIGHTING FIXTURE LOUVER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 13, 1961 INVENTOR. WILLIS L. LIPSCOMB March 10, 1964 w. LIPSCOMB LIGHTING FIXTURE LOWER s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 13, 1961 I .HIHHD II" I 44 \LJM 46 4o 46 Fig. 4

INVENTOR. LLIS L. LIPSC OMB March 10, 1964 w L. LIPSCOMB LIGHTING FIXTURE LOUVER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 13, 1961 Fig. 7

INVENTOR. WILLIS L. LIPSCOMB lilhlslhlillip;

United States Patent 3,124,310 LIGH'ILNG FIXTURE LOUVER Willis L. Lipscomb, 2208 Willow, San Diego, Calif. Filed Get. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 144,893 4 Claims. (Cl. 240-78) The present invention relates generally to lighting fixtures and more particularly -to a louver.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a louver in which the walls have inclined surfaces which cause light to pass through with a minimum of inter-wall reflections and reduce the surface brightness of the louver.

Another object of this invention is to provide a louver which may be made with hollow walls for lightness, which is advantageous in larger sizes and allows metallic or colored coatings to be applied internally for protection against wear and damage.

A further object of this invention is to provide a louver which may be made with cells of various cross sections to suit light distribution and decorative requirements.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a louver which may be made with hollow walls of extremely thin material for economy, and which is reinforced by filling the hollow walls with lightweight plastic foam material.

Finally, it is an object to provide a louver of the aforementioned character which is simple and convenient to manufacture and use and which will give generally efficient and durable service.

With these and other objects definitely in view, this invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions, as will be hereinafter fully described in the specification, particularly pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the drawings which form a material part of this disclosure, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the louver;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, transverse sectional view thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of a modified form of the structure of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of a solid wall structure;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of a modified form of the structure of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURES 6, 7, 8 and 9 are similar sectional views of further modified forms of the structure.

Referring now to FIGURES l and 2 of the drawings, the louver comprises a plurality of intersecting walls 10 and 12 defining open cells therebetween, in a substantially egg crate configuration. As illustrated, the cells are rectangular in cross section, but may be polygonal, circular, or any other suitable shape. Each Wall is downwardly convergent in cross section, the sides having vertically adjacent concave faces, three such faces 14, 1'6 and 18 being illustrated by way of an example. The faces are concave in the vertical plane of the Wall and extend longitudinally thereof, said faces being of thin material and joined by closed lower edges 20 to form hollow walls. The upper open ends of the walls 10 and 12 are enclosed by a grid plate 22 having openings 24 corresponding to the cells, said walls having upper edge flanges 26 for attachment to the grid plate by suitable bonding.

The specific curvature of the faces is not particularly critical, but the overall configuration is generally convergent toward the lower edges. This arrangement ensures that light from a lamp 28 positioned above the louver as in FIGURE 2, is directed downwardly through the cells with a minimum of reflection from the walls. The curvature prevents bright spots and provides a surface of low brightness, while the combination of wall 3,124,310 Patented Mar. 10, 1964 taper and curvature reflects the light downwardly with a minimum number of reflections between adjacent Walls. The louver is preferably made from plastic material, which may be opaque or translucent, the thin, hollow wall structure permitting the economical use of more expensive but higher strength material than would be possible with solid walls.

A modified form of the louver is illustrated in FIG- URE 3, the basic structure and configuration being as described above, but the interior of the walls being covered with a metallic coating 30. The plastic material may be transparent or translucent and various color effects are obtainable with colored plastic and colored metallic coatings. The metallized walls have a high reflectivity but, due to the curvature, still have a low overall brightness.

For smaller sizes of louvers where the hollow structure may be impractical, the solid wall louver illustrated in 'FIGURE 4 may be desirable. The configuration is generally similar to that previously described, the walls 40 and 42 having concave faces 44, 4 6 and 48, but the upper edges of the walls are peaked, as indicated at 50.

A modified form of the solid wall structure is illustrated in FIGURE 5, in which concave faces 54, 56 and 53 are separated by flat, narrow step faces 60 angularly disposed outwardly and downwardly. By so stepping the wall thickness outwardly at the top of each concave face, the depth of concavity can be increased in each face without an undesirably thick upper wall edge.

In FIGURE 6, a further modification is illustrated, in which the hollow walls 62 have single concave faces 64, the walls converging to closed lower edges 66. The in terior surfaces of walls 62 have a reflective coating 68 and the upper ends are closed by a grid plate 70 perforated to expose the open cells. The structure is basically similar to that of FIGURE 3 except for the single curvature of the walls.

The form illustrated in FIGURE 7 is also similar to that just described, except that the hollow walls 72 have flat, inclined faces 74 convergent to the lower edges.

FIGURE 8 illustrates a configuration which is structurally similar to FIGURE 6 in all respects, with the addition of a filling of lightweight plastic foam 76 inside the hollow walls. This foam serves as a reinforcement and provides great structural rigidity, while allowing the use of extremely thin wall material. The walls can be made of high quality plastic and still be economical due to the great reduction in actual volume of material required.

One further form, illustrated in FIGURE 9, uses the advantage of foam filling 76 to reinforce hollow, fiat sided, only slightly convergent walls 78 of minimum thickness. This reduces the light obstruction of the walls and again reduces the amount of relatively expensive plastic material required. The reflective coating 68 is shown applied to the small end walls 69, as well as to the interior of the Walls 68 because it may be more economical to coat the entire inside surface than to shield said end walls when the coating is applied.

In each form of the louver, the inclined faces, curved or otherwise are symmetrical about a plane extending vertically through the center of the walls and deflect light through the cells, rather than causing inter-wall reflections which would increase surface brightness. A large portion of reflected light is thus added to the direct light, but the louver surface retains a low brightness and is not bothersome to the eyes.

The operation of this invention will be clearly comprehended from a consideration of the foregoing description of the mechanical details thereof, taken in connection with the drawing and the above recited objects. It will be obvious that all said objects are amply achieved by this invention.

It is understood that minor variation from the form of the invention disclosed herein may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the specification and drawing are to be considered as merely illustrative rather than limiting.

I claim:

1. A louver, comprising:

a plurality of intersecting walls defining open cells therebetween;

the outer thickness of each of said walls decreasing toward one face of the louver;

said walls being hollow and each side of each wall having multiple, curved outer faces concave in the vertical plane of the walls and being symmetrical about a plane extending vertically through the center of the walls.

2. A louver, comprising:

a plurality of intersecting walls defining open cells therebetween;

the outer thickness of each of said walls decreasing toward one face of the louver;

said walls being hollow and each side of each wall having multiple curved outer faces concave in the vertical plane of the walls and being symmetrical about a plane extending vertically through the center of the walls;

the edges of said hollow walls at said face being closed;

and a grid plate fixed to and enclosing the edges of said walls at the face of said louver opposite to said face, said grid plate having openings registering with said cells.

3. A louver according to claim 2 and including a refleccoating on the inner surfaces of said hollow walls.

4. A louver, comprising:

a plurality of intersecting walls defining open cells therebetween;

said walls being tapered toward one face of the louver and having concave opposed sides;

said walls being hollow and light transmissive;

and the inner surfaces of said walls being reflective.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,683,799 Taylor et a1. July 13, 1954 2,684,341 Anspon et al July 20, 1954 2,813,053 Tuomala -2 Nov. 12, 1957 2,913,576 Gilleard' Nov. 17, 1959 2,971,083 Phillips Feb. 7, 1961 3,016,997 Price Jan. 16, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 19,948 Great Britain Sept 9, 1893 of 1892 

4. A LOUVER, COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF INTERSECTING WALLS DEFINING OPEN CELLS THEREBETWEEN; SAID WALLS BEING TAPERED TOWARD ONE FACE OF THE LOUVER AND HAVING CONCAVE OPPOSED SIDES; SAID WALLS BEING HOLLOW AND LIGHT TRANSMISSIVE; AND THE INNER SURFACES OF SAID WALLS BEING REFLECTIVE. 